Last week, my three-year-old asked for chips and guacamole for lunch. You might think, “That’s not a good lunch,” but this is how cute he is, so we basically let him have whatever he wants:
I pulled out avocados and Eli had a mini freak out. “No! I said guacamole! Not avocados!”
I explained that I always make his guacamole with avocados, and that everything was going to be fine. He looked doubtful, but he was more interested in playing with trains than watching me make lunch, so he left. When he came back later, he was delighted that there were no more avocados in the kitchen, just guacamole.
I chuckled about this throughout the day, but I also felt the weight of the lesson in there. I started thinking about how many times I just want the finished product—the published book, the deep friendship, the thriving children—and yet I bemoan the ingredients themselves.
Yes, I want to build close friendships, and yet I find myself resisting the “inconveniences” that are necessary for doing just that. I’m totally here for you … unless it requires actually getting on the phone (can’t we just text?) or me putting aside my to-do list.
Or for our purposes today, books. I want that beautiful, finished book. I want the gorgeous cover, the glowing reviews, and the glamorous book tour. But I’m quick to groan about the ingredients that I don’t like: writing hook sentences, coming up with titles, doing book surgery on a manuscript that doesn’t yet work, figuring out how to squeeze in writing time during the summer. I don’t want those avocados, thank you very much. Just give me that guacamole, already!
And the ingredient that none of us like very much? Time.
Anything worthwhile in our life involves an investment of time. Quality relationships, skills like playing an instrument/painting/fixing cars, education, and so forth.
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going,” opera singer Beverly Sills said, and I believe that wholeheartedly. I’ve seen that proven true over and over in my writing. Yes, we might become more skilled or efficient in our processes, but writing a book is always going to take an investment of time. There will always be ingredients we don’t particularly like on their own, but if we can stick it out through those pieces, we will get the reward of our finished book at the end.
Is there a part of writing that you don’t enjoy, or that feels insurmountably difficult? While right now for me it’s the balance of motherhood and writing, it used to be writing an entire book, and then it became writing a book that was long enough to be considered a novel. I would love to hear what it is for you!
Cute story, and I love that quote! I can get impatient with how long it takes me to reach an end goal.
At this point, writing a full-length novel has been the almost insurmountable difficulty. The more work I put into it, the more I see how much more work it still needs. Well, can’t say writing is ever dull.
Ohhhh, I relate to that! Teaching myself how to write a full, book-length story was so hard. And then to realize that I still had so much work to do with edits! We’re here for you, Samantha!
Beautifully said!
For me the worst part is when you have to work at brainstorming. (After all the ideas that came with the original idea run out.
I’m stuck in that place right now! It can be so frustrating to feel like you see most of the story, but just can’t figure out the rest.
Personally, the hardest part of writing for me is writing when I don’t really feel like it or know how to get from point a to point b. Pushing past writer’s block is definitely my least favorite thing.
Or maybe just figuring out halfway through that your current POV isn’t really working and having to go back and make a billion tiny edits.
Oh, and adorable three year olds always get their way. Including my sister. She doesn’t love guacamole, but if she could eat our knockoff brand Nutella for every meal she’d be in seventh heaven! ?
Oh, ick. I’ve had that same thing with POV! No fun at all.
And my daughter would live on Nutella if I let her. Not that I blame her 🙂
I totally relate when it comes to struggling to get from point a to b. And OUCH! That POV thing sounds rough. I guess it’s better that you made that realization halfway through rather than all the way through your manuscript, though. Good luck. You’ve got this!
Thanks!
Oh my gosh, I was just thinking the other day how I feel like I’m not thinking about my story in the moment (which would consist of drafting my remaining scenes); instead I’m thinking about how I can’t wait to start editing it so I can flesh it out and make it feel like a real book. I can’t wait until I can clean up my currently disjointed mess into something more concise. And then I can’t wait to get to the point where I can start having others critique it, and then I can’t wait to start querying agents, and so on and so forth. I guess the phrase about how writers hate writing but love having written is true.
I definitely think that time is an issue for me. And while scenes play out so great in my head, sometimes it’s hard to summon the focus to actually put words on the page. It’s also hard when I need to use a writing skill that I haven’t had a lot of practice with yet, like sub-plotting and character development. I guess I’ll just have to keep learning
Also, your son is adorable. The whole thing about freaking out over the avocados sounds like something I would’ve done at that age.
Em, I laughed because that sounds like me! When I’m working on a first draft, I think, “I just want to be done with this and editing.” When I’m editing, I think, “Editing is hard! I wish I was just making stuff up again!”
And thank you 🙂 Unfortunately, he knows he’s adorable and can get away with a lot. Especially with his older siblings.
You got this! I know the end is either a nightmare or a full on Sprint, but you got this!
Oof, and subplotting is not my favorite thing ever, but it’s satisfying at the end, so keep pushing!
Thanks. 🙂
I recently finished my second novel and I figured out how much I loathe editing, which is sorta weird because I’ll often go “I’ll fix it in editing” while writing a first draft. So this hits home. I just want to pump out the perfect book and be done with it, but alas, that will never, ever happen. But I’m going to push through it, and this was really inspiring to hear 🙂
You can do it! And hopefully the more you edit, the better you’ll get and more you like it. And as you improve at that, you’ll improve at first drafts too!
This is such a great reminder. Sometimes I get discouraged too, because there’s just SO MUCH effort that has to be put into anything worth finishing. But if it’s important enough (and, in the case of finishing my books, it is to me), I’ll put in the work and finish it eventually.
And Eli’s super adorable. 😉
theonesthatreallymatter.blogspot.com
No one said that Rome was built in a day .
. . and the best books aren’t either! ?? You got this!
First of all, chips and guacamole is a perfectly respectable lunch! I mean, the primary ingredient is produce! 😉
I think my biggest challenge is always taking the ideas I put down in my synopsis before I began and actually translating them into workable action. It seems like as I write, things always change so much! The characters develop differently; that plot twist I thought would be perfect now feels flat; what I thought would make a good mid-point turns out not to happen in the middle (which would be where I am right now). I have to constantly remind myself that letting the story evolve organically is GOOD, and I shouldn’t get hung up on it not going quite how I envisioned it.
Ooh, I feel you! Organic evolving is either really nice, or über annoying! You’ll get through it, though!
First, love the analogy so much!
Second, guacamole and chips is actually a pretty decent lunch to me! I mean avocados are pretty healthy 😉
keturahskorner.blogspot.com
First, love the analogy so much!
Second, guacamole and chips is actually a pretty decent lunch to me! I mean avocados are pretty healthy 😉
keturahskorner.blogspot.com